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Green tech puts new face on business

Md Hasan
The green technology is gaining ground in Bangladesh, as several sectors are adopting the innovations, thanks to growing campaigns against carbon emissions, thelead contributor toglobal warming.
The idea behind green technology encompasses evolving new methods and techniques to generate energy for production of non-toxic products. The concept -be green and make business green' -- is up in the air.
Starting a green business has two advantages over starting any other kind of business, says an expert. First, environmentalism is growing and so green technology-powered busmesses will target a growing market. Second, the intangible benefit is that a person investing in green business has the satisfaction of knowing that the contribution is making the world a better place to live in.
Solar energy has emerged strong in the market for green technology over the last twelve years to mitigate theeffectsofelectricityshortagesat rural levels.
The need for solar energy is keenly felt as only 40 percent of the population has an access to electricity. Power cuts are common. Demand for electricity is growing at over 500MW a year.
Grameen Shakti (GS), a concern of Grameen Bank, is the market leader in installing solar-based technologies for various uses. Having installed 325,000 photovoltaic solar home systems and 8,000 biogas plants for cooking purposes across the country, it delivers sources of renewable energy.
GS has also launched a programme to promote environment-friendly stoves in Bangladesh to address the high demand for biomass fuel to reduce indoor air pollution caused by cooking on tradi- tional stoves. So far, 35,000 improved cook stoves have been installed.
"Green technology improves the quality of life," said Dipal Chandra Barua, managing director of Grameen Shakti.
"Our idea is not only to introduce green technology, but to make a green generation," said Barua. "We plan to generate 100,000 green jobs by 2012, by training them on producing and maintaining green technology as a sustainable source of energy."
Grameen Technology Centre (GTC) daily trains hundreds of women.
The growing concerns over where food comes means more people demand organic food.
Apart from GS, 15 organisations provide homebased solar energy' system.
GS. Rahimafrooz and some other organisations are developing zero-carbon emitting irrigation pumps and organic fertilisers to produce healthier crops. It has developed solar irrigation pumps to replace the traditional ones that run on diesel. The company is operating nine pumps in crop fields.
"The pumps are powered by solar panels, which emits zero carbon," said Nazmunnahar, executive engineer of Rahimafrooz. The company took the
initiative to introduce green technology to the crop fields to produce organic food. From its heavy dominance on chain super shops, Rahimafrooz is one of the promoters of organic food.
A small-scale biogas plant based on cow dung can produce more than 8,000 kilograms of slurry, which is equivalent to 224 kilograms of urea, 1,120 kilograms ofTSP and 114 kilograms of mp fertiliser. An entrepreneur can earn Tk 16,000 by selling this slurry for a minimum ofTk 2 per kilogram.
Brickfields are the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Bangladesh. An inefficient number of poorly constructed kilns and the use of substandard fuels in the kilns contribute to the high level of emission.
Around 4,000 brickfields produce more than 12 billion bricks a year, which has been growing by 10 percent a year due to a boom in real estate.
A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-supported pilot project was introduced at Dhamrai, a brickfield hub, to modernise the industry and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It recommends the use of the environmentfriendly Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) technology to replace the age-old Fixed Chimney Kiln in the
brick-making units.
The 150-year-old kiln technology being used in Bangladesh is mostly based on Bull's Trench Kiln Technology. Under the UNDP project, 31 energy efficient brick kilns will initially be set up in different parts of the country.
In high-tech based industries, telecom comes to the forefront to go green. Bangladesh's largest mobile phone company Grameenphone is making the ultimate transformation to become a "green company".
In Bangladesh, the mobile sector accounts for less than 1 percent oftotal carbon emission.
"We are all contributors to this global crisis and we all need to be part of the solution," said Oddvar Hesjedal, chief executive of Grameenphone. "An environmental roadmap aims to promote a low-carbon society and the company's first priority is to take responsibility for the excess CO2 emissions being generated by its own operations."
Grameenphone has started adopting green energy solutions for its base stations; two hybrid solar-powered base stations have been operational since last year. The company is also to install an experimental wind-turbine at the base station.
In developed countries, the use of green or renewable energy has emerged in a big way.
"We are not lagging. Some technologies are in place, while many more are being developed," said Muhammad Zamir, chairman of Bangladesh Renewable Energy Society.
Globally, green technology is being used economically and socially. "The government should encourage its use among the mass on a larger scale, at affordable rates."
hasan@thedailystar.net